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KAO THE KANGAROO (DC)
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Publisher: Titus Interactive.
Developer: X-Ray Interactive. Released: December 2000. Genre: 3D Platformer. Other versions: PC; GBA. Posted 10th February 2023. By Shane Battams © 2023 |
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With the 3D platformer arguably at its peak by the year 2000, with a myriad of high-quality platformers releasing during that year alone, Kao the Kangaroo’s arrival proved unsurprising. The debut title from Polish team X-Ray Interactive, Dreamcast owners would get another platformer on a system rife with competition, including SEGA’s own Sonic Adventure. Sadly, Kao’s inaugural adventure would stumble on its core fundamentals, with control and collision detection issues turning regular gameplay into a frustrating time. Even when everything functions, it’s a highly generic title which can easily be skipped, even by genre aficionados.
Kao lives a peaceful life with his family, enjoying life in the jungle, before he’s kidnapped by a hunter. This kickstarts his adventure as you navigate hazardous stages, while taking out a myriad of henchmen along the way. Strangely, this adventure sees you going from outback jungles to some sort of ancient coliseum which climaxes with a boss fight against Zeus, only to immediately jump into space. Its themes are all over the shop, but it serves as a functional structure. However, from the bland world map to the bland assortment of foes you fight, nothing feels standout. The game’s 30 levels can be polished off in a couple of sittings, with some stages taking less than five minutes, but collecting all the coins in each stage does reward an extra Snowboarding stage. Needless to say, it doesn’t incentivise much.
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A 3D platformer from an era of great 3D platformers, but Kao struggles with patchy controls and dodgy chase sequences
Kao’s issues go far beyond a lack of identity and length however. The gameplay suffers from severe issues with controls and collision detection. Responsiveness is inconsistent, sometimes seeing Kao failing to perform his attack or jump and walk straight off an edge. Sometimes punching at a foe sees you missing despite being almost on top of them, while their strikes seem miles off, yet still cause you damage. It makes simply trying to navigate levels a chore, turns regular jumps into a nightmare and renders combat a pain. The camera compounds matters, often failing to keep track of Kao and sometimes getting stuck on objects. The low point is a handful of chase sequences, which feel horrendous to control due to flipping your view without changing the controls, overly fast death hazards which require constant jumping to avoid and a smattering of hazards that are only visible just before you hit them. You can manually place your own checkpoints, a novel mechanic, and needless to say, saving them for these would be best.
Outside of these, levels come in either vehicular races or boss encounters. With something of an extreme-sports flair, seeing Kao riding a glider, hovercraft and even crocodile, they’re probably the strongest aspect of the game, feeling decent to control and tricky yet fair. Bosses are significantly less fun, a take on the 3-hit Nintendo formula done in the most obscure, infuriating way possible. Whether it’s awkwardly trying to lure a bear to an oddly-timed anvil drop, trying to knock Zeus off his cloud with a specific jump or dealing with an infuriating robot covered in a shield and electric lasers, none of these feel enjoyable and leave you gritting your teeth. Without any clues on how to defeat them, it feels counterproductive to Kao’s target audience.
Outside of these, levels come in either vehicular races or boss encounters. With something of an extreme-sports flair, seeing Kao riding a glider, hovercraft and even crocodile, they’re probably the strongest aspect of the game, feeling decent to control and tricky yet fair. Bosses are significantly less fun, a take on the 3-hit Nintendo formula done in the most obscure, infuriating way possible. Whether it’s awkwardly trying to lure a bear to an oddly-timed anvil drop, trying to knock Zeus off his cloud with a specific jump or dealing with an infuriating robot covered in a shield and electric lasers, none of these feel enjoyable and leave you gritting your teeth. Without any clues on how to defeat them, it feels counterproductive to Kao’s target audience.
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Kao the Kangaroo’s arrival on the Dreamcast may leave you thinking it could be a looker, but the graphics struggle to outpace many of its contemporaries on weaker hardware. Despite being very colourful and varied, much of the texture work and designs look muddy and unflattering. Even Kao himself feels like a basic assortment of polygons which would make Croc blush. What’s worse is that severe slowdown during certain stages can make input responsiveness even worse, swinging wildly from 60fps to low 20s. The audio is also mixed, as while the musical accompaniment ranges from catchy to generic, the loops are often so short that tracks repeat multiple times on a stage, leaving you bored with repetition. Sound effects hit all the expected points, with cartoony smashes and crashes feeling appropriate if uninspired.
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...and the bosses aren't much fun, either.
Kao the Kangaroo proves one of the weaker platformers on the Dreamcast, with a litany of issues interfering with the fun at every turn. Whether it’s unresponsive controls, shoddy collision detection or frustrating designs, this 3D platformer feels bereft of quality more often than not. Not even some decent vehicle sections make up for the endless frustration. Even with a shorter length and colourful cheer, Kao feels like an imitator of much better platforming experiences, while forgetting what makes these games enjoyable in the first place. Unless you absolutely crave owning every 3D platformer on SEGA’s sixth-gen platform, steer clear of this one like a Kangaroo punch to the jaw.
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VERDICT
"A debilitating mixture of unresponsive controls, shoddy collision detection and frustrating design renders Kao the Kangaroo one of the weaker platformers on the Dreamcast." OVERALL: 4/10 |